//------------------------------// // Glow is Me // Story: Cozy // by ferret //------------------------------// Cozy Glow and Rarity stared at each other silently, the one summing up the other, searching for weaknesses, silently jockeying for who would be first to speak. “I’m sorry for what I said, the other day,” Rarity said evenly. “Oh thank you so much for apologizing, now why don’t you go die in a hole?” Cozy Glow replied, displaying a rather remarkable range of emotions. Rarity looked unimpressed at the angry pile of sheets that was Cozy Glow, then said, “Filly, you need a brushing.” “I can brush myself,” Cozy replied, frowning defiantly. “Very well, then,” Rarity said, and through the door’s slot floated a brush wreathed in sparkling blue. Cozy looked at it, then looked up at Rarity suspiciously. Rarity placed the brush down on the floor next to Cozy Glow’s approximate side. Cozy Glow shifted under the sheet, and a small pink hoof reached out, and tugged the brush under the sheets. Some time passed. Cozy looked up at the door, to see Rarity still looking in the window. “Why are you watching me?” she asked, glaring. “I set aside approximately two hours in my busy schedule to give you some basic grooming,” Rarity explained, “So if you won’t let me brush you, then I haven’t anything else to do but stand here.” “Well, don’t,” Cozy advised grumpily. Rarity didn’t listen. “I’m not gonna do anything,” Cozy added, “And I’m not coming out from under the sheet while you’re there.” “Your loss,” Rarity replied defiantly. Some more time passed. The sound of a brush catching against a very tangled mane started coming forth from under the sheet. “Nh—ouch...” Cozy barely murmured in frustration. “I also brought a comb,” Rarity said, levitating it over to hover by the filly, “As well as a fur brush, a curry comb, a pair of scissors, an automatic trimmer, a feather straightener, a hoof scraper, a nail file, a spritzer full of fresh spring water, a package of moist towelettes...” she said, levitating each in turn to float around the filly, concluding with, “...and I happen to be a magical unicorn. Now will you please let me brush you?” “...only if you let me out of here,” Cozy said mockingly. “Cozy,” Rarity said testily, “You are lucky to be here. You could be rotting in Tartarus now if some ponies weren’t so generous as to offer to help you out. If I have my way, I’m going to do my best to make you beautiful. I’m going to give you a whole new look. you’re going to be a new mare, by the time I’m done. But I am not going to let you out.” “You couldn’t even trim a bush!” Cozy said accusingly, burying herself deeper under the sheet not even looking out anymore with all the glowing things floating lazily around her. A quiet snort of laughter escaped Rarity. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a chance to engage in any topiary,” Rarity told Cozy, “That and my little pastime in mane styling have fallen by the wayside, so that I can focus on producing the next best clothing line to grace Equestria, as well as teaching ponies a thing or two about generosity.” Cozy looked downward, then thought she was asking accusingly, but it came out almost sounding like curiosity, “Why do you make clothing? It’s not like ponies ever wear it. You’re wasting your time.” “You are wearing a sheet right now,” Rarity said acidly, “And if I recall you are partial to putting some lovely white ribbons in your mane?” “Ribbons aren’t clothes,” Cozy Glow protested fussily. “Ponies wear clothing for special occasions,” Rarity stated informatively, “And on those occasions, it is my duty to bring out the inner beauty of ponies, through what they wear, rather than trying to cover it up... with a sheet.” “Ohhh wow, everypony’s got inner beauty!” Cozy Glow exclaimed in not amazement, “They’re all good little ponies, just waiting for you to find out what makes them beautiful inside.” Rarity’s hair care products floated back through the slot. Cozy Glow was highly unimpressed, when Rarity said in what must have been a vindictive tone, “Cozy, you are not beautiful on the inside. You are a spiteful, angry, evil little filly.” Cozy gritted her teeth in rage, trying not to prove that other evil pony right by shouting at her. Again. “I don’t know what makes you think you can feel this way,” Rarity continued hotly, “But I have no illusions about rendering you a happy and lovable pony. I’m afraid no amount of beautification can quell that raging fire within you, Cozy Glow.” Cozy... felt like she should be mad at that, but she... couldn’t? That was an insult, right? “You’re not going to be a very nice pony, no matter what I do,” Rarity said, “And frankly you shouldn’t be. Better to be a hateful little troll than have to lie about who you are, and live with that every day.” “Stop making... fun of me!” Cozy protested in bewilderment, “I’m not a—a troll. There’s nothing wrong with me!” How was this pony insulting her in a way that Cozy couldn’t get mad at?! “Cozy, you are a pony,” Rarity said wearily. Cozy didn’t reply. “You are a beautiful pony,” Rarity insisted, “And you can’t be truly beautiful, if you’re not beautiful at all on the inside. But can’t I at least try to make you feel a little bit... better about yourself?” Cozy wanted to so badly. “No,” she said in a desperately forced calm, “No, you can’t.” ... “Cozy, I’m coming in the room,” Rarity said impatiently. “No, you can’t!” Cozy repeated anxiously. “I’m taking that sheet off,” Rarity continued. “No, you can’t! I...!” Cozy said desperately. “Cozy, I’ve seen you underneath that sheet already,” Rarity said in exasperation, “You have nothing to hide! Is there anything wrong with me coming in, and giving you a good brushing?” “Y-you’ll... I—I don’t know,” Cozy said, just blanking, “Why are you doing all this? What’s in it for you?” Rarity pursed her lips, then admitted, “A friend of mine came very close to destroying the world once. She was jealous of me and my... inner circle, for having something she thought she could never have: a good life, and wonderful friends. She didn’t intentionally put the world at risk, but she also didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was making us feel the same pain that she felt. She... succeeded in a way, and now she has a good life, and wonderful friends, myself included, all because Twilight Sparkle was forced to... find out what was wrong with her, and help her get through it.” Cozy Glow just grumbled. Whoever Rarity’s friend was probably just... missed a tea party or something, instead of destroying the world, and fixing what was wrong with her was easy. Nopony could do anything about what was wrong with Cozy Glow though, and she knew it. “Twilight Sparkle does not often give her foes second chances, Cozy,” Rarity said seriously, “Neither she nor any of us even cared to find out why you were so troubled. But Starlight Glimmer was given a second chance once, and she’s worked tirelessly to give you a second chance too. I think she sees much of herself in you, Cozy Glow. Starlight believes that if she can find out what is wrong with you, if she can help you get through it, then you can get better... too.” Blushing, Rarity hastily concluded, “She’s my friend, and I would like her to succeed. So that is what I am getting out of it. Now can I please come in, and brush you, even just a little bit? Just an eensy weensy little bit?” “...no.” “Just think of how good it’ll feel!” Rarity says sweetly, “I promise I’m as gentle as a lamb. I just need you to take off the sheet.” Cozy couldn’t. “Go on,” Rarity said encouragingly. Cozy couldn’t give in. She wanted to, and she couldn’t! She couldn’t just follow somepony’s orders without getting anything in return. That would make her feel... it would make her feel. “Don’t you want to be brushed?” Rarity asked, and Cozy latched on to that. “I won’t take off the sheet unless you promise to brush me,” Cozy said calculatingly, “You have to promise to brush me just a little, or I won’t take it off.” “I... I don’t...” Rarity said uncertainly, falling to silence as Cozy despaired of ever getting brushed. Then, Rarity kind of... somehow... figured it out, a little. “If... you take your sheet off,” Rarity tried, “Then I agree to brush you?” Cozy looked up at the window. “If you take your sheet off,” Rarity said a little more confidently, “Then yes, I promise to brush you, a little. Do we have an agreement?” Cozy... didn’t want to take the sheet off, but... that was Rarity’s demand, so Cozy pushed the sheet off until it caught on her broken wings, then she tensed up, and just... forced her wings to fold, letting the sheet fall all the way off of her. Then the scrawny, ratty, filthy little filly looked dolefully up at the little window Rarity was peering in through. Cozy couldn’t get the brush out of her hair anymore, incidentally. “Alright now, I’m coming in,” Rarity said cautiously, “Remember your agreement.” “I won’t stop you, if you really w-want,” Cozy said mutedly. The door clicked, and slid open, and Cozy shrunk back as a white hoof delicately made its way inside, pulling the door open to admit the rest of the elegant unicorn. She had on fetching lavender saddlebags, which opened with her magic, and out from them came a sharp pointed array of spikes held in her magical glow. Cozy wanted it. “I—I want to brush myself,” Cozy remarked stepping back as the glowing implement approached her skin. “Is... something the matter?” Rarity asked cautiously, eyeing Cozy, and probably judging her. “Just get it over with,” Cozy said, scrunching her eyes shut, and looking the other way. “Indeed,” Rarity said, “Just relax and let me get a few rough spots out.” The sharp spikes poked into Cozy’s back making her stiffen in shock. Cozy just... sat there as this array of spikes dug into the small of her back, right up by her wing muscles, carving little tingling trenches through her fur as it stroked down. Cozy just... sat there on her haunches in genuine shock, as the floating curry comb just... combed her! It stroked down her hindquarters, and scraped all that loose pink fluff ahead of it. Cozy lifted a wing and it slid under it, stroking down her side in dreadful relief. It never felt this good when she did it. What gives? Cozy felt the brush tug in her hair, as Rarity said, “Oh dear,” all without any ceasing of the tingling stroking down Cozy’s barrel and back. Something Cozy couldn’t see spritzed her hair with a chilly spray, and she saw a comb headed her way. Cozy scrambled back from it, but the comb stopped in the air then, and she closed her eyes, waiting for it to... not hurt her. The mane comb barely pulled at all, mostly just sliding into and out of Cozy Glow’s mane. But somehow between that and the spritzing and light tugs, the brush fell out of her mane. Then the barest touches of the brush against Cozy’s mane seemed to crackle with tangles, like scraping steel wool. Cozy winced at prickles of pain, looking up as her hair just... seemed like an impenetrable fortress of tangles. But those lightest little brushes stroked further then, and with a rush, Cozy’s mane started parting around the brush. Unfortunately Cozy’s mane got hung up on the comb then, because a spray bottle of water floating in magic flew in front of her, and Cozy reflexively twisted away from it, and her hair jerked as the comb snarled while the filly covered her eyes. “Are... you alright, dear?” Rarity asked. “I don’t like magic touching me,” Cozy grumbled miserably, hooves pressed against her closed eyelids, “I just won’t look, and... and then I won’t care if it is touching me.” That beautiful comb and the strangely effective brush vanished from Cozy’s senses then. She uncovered her eyes, to see the unicorn holding up her foreleg, with the brush strapped onto it, and no sparkly blue magic anywhere around at all. “Would it seriously be easier on you if I touch you with my hoof, rather than with my magic?” Rarity asked her incredulously. Cozy looked away, saying, “S-sure, whatever.” The brushing resumed, not as... smoothly or gently. Cozy didn’t want anypony to know about her... thing with magic, so why did she just tell Rarity? Why wasn’t Cozy angry, or... or upset with her? Rarity wasn’t any good with the feather straightener in her mouth, so Cozy handled that part, and... tried not to cringe at her own strange, sawed off half-feathers. They still felt like primaries, and acted like them, what was left of them, so it wasn’t hard to deal with. Just horrible. “I’m afraid I might not be able to do as much without my magic,” Rarity remarked, as her hoof stroked the softer brush down along Cozy’s belly, “But I can at least make you somewhat presentable. You know, I know a few earth ponies who could do wonders on you—” “No,” Cozy said definitively, weirded out by how when she said that her own belly kind of jerked against the brush. She was not used to being brushed there. “No this’s good enough,” she clarified, not sure how to tell Rarity that Cozy couldn’t believe she was letting somepony else brush her in the first place. It had been an emergency, but... it was a lot more intense than Cozy had expected it to be! Rarity didn’t attempt to trim Cozy’s fetlocks, or do much of anything fancy with her. Certainly not more water spritzing. But the fur brush pulled off a solid mass of loosened pink fur. Cozy was fairly sure she’d be entirely bald by the time this was done. Rarity lay Cozy’s tail over her forelegs, then used the hair brush just on the tip of it, teasing it out smooth and straight, inch by inch. It didn’t seem like it was working at all, just scraping against a wall of tangles, but the scrapey tangle things just started to disappear then, until the brush was combing smoothly through Cozy’s blue and white striped tail. Watching the smooth movement of Rarity’s head along the length of Cozy’s increasingly straight tail, Cozy said, “You can... use your magic.” “Hmm?” Rarity asked, lifting her head to look at Cozy Glow curiously. “If I cover my eyes, you can use your magic,” Cozy said with a flutter of nervousness, “It’s not bad if I don’t have to see it.” “Are you sure?” Rarity asked, letting the brush fall into the crook of her hoof. “Pretty sure,” Cozy admitted, “That’s just what works. I don’t really care if you use your magic, so it’s... um...” Cozy just rolled on her belly, burying her snout under her forelegs. Rarity looked at the filly, sitting there on the floor hiding her face, and lit up her horn, bringing forth her full arsenal of spritzer, scissors, trimmer, and other implements that required fine manipulation. Cozy was still trying to curl her hair, but Rarity hoped she could manage to coax the filly’s mane into something other than those dreadful curlilocks. Without a ribbon, the tail of her mane cascaded down behind her neck, in a way that could be teased into an acceptable squiggle, if Cozy would relax it just a little bit more. Cozy Glow didn’t strike Rarity as a very relaxed pony. Her fur cleaned up nicely, and her feathers... looked odd, even when folded, but that wasn’t something Rarity could do much about at the moment. Perhaps some kind of a wing cover in the future. Cozy’s tail was trying to wrap around itself, but Rarity managed to coax it into more of a tailward curve, along the lines of the Canterlot Curlique, as best as Rarity could estimate it. Rarity was just glad she herself had a mane not unlike Cozy Glow’s. Too curly to leave be, but sleek enough to leave free. That did make it a challenge to decide where to put the smooth white ribbon like the one Cozy used to wear, but threading it through her hair and folding most of it into a layered rosette, Rarity found she could place the cloth rose just near enough to Cozy’s ear to complement it, without any potential chafing when her ear swivelled around or flattened back. As much as Rarity could hope Cozy would have no reason to flatten her ears back, it was not a likely prospect at this point in time. Cozy had been eating well the past few weeks, and she had bulked up nicely, although she was still somewhat skinny for a filly her age. Cozy’s fur didn’t smell like lavender and roses, but it was well brushed now, soft and fuzzy as the day she was born. Her tail now relaxed into tailward curves as opposed to the crude bulky lateral curl it was used to. Her mane was left loose around her shoulders, her bangs slightly raised from her eyes by a white ribbon that formed a rosette next to her ear, which should survive the ribbon being fastened and unfastened. Her curls were looser, with a more varied distribution. All-in-all she looked rather... acceptable. Rarity couldn’t do more without access to hair products and hot water, and at that point Cozy might as well be luxuriating in the spa. But after what Starlight said, Rarity wasn’t sure Cozy was ready for that level of fabulousness, so this simple improvement in appearance would have to do for now. Snipping each of Cozy’s fetlocks, then trimming the fur to the edge of her hoof, Rarity looked with worry at those rather unkempt pink nails. Cozy could crack her hoof with how uneven they were. But to get the filly to lay on her back... Rarity laid down all of her articles and implements, and delit her horn entirely. “I’ll need you on your back, dear, so I can even out your hooves a little,” Rarity said tactfully. “I told you, I c-can’t look!” the filly said shrilly, her forelegs tense over her eyes, actually sounding... alarmed? “I’m... not using my magic,” Rarity said with an uneasy feeling in her gut. Cozy Glow hadn’t shown any signs of being frightened before. “You can uncover your eyes, now.” Cozy cautiously climbed to her haunches, eyeing Rarity, or specifically her horn, saying, “I just don’t like magic touching me. You can go ahead and use it I don’t care.” “My magic hasn’t the strength for this, I’m afraid,” Rarity said apologetically, “I need you to lay on your back, so I can work on your hooves more easily.” Cozy looked at Rarity suspiciously, then lay on her back, her little hooves curling in the air above her. “You better not do anything funny,” Cozy said testily, “Because I’m only doing this because you wanted to.” “Well, thank you Cozy!” Rarity said in an impressed tone, “I do appreciate you letting me do this for you.” “Why?” Cozy asked in an unimpressed tone. ... Rarity just picked up the nail file in her mouth. She almost picked it up with her magic, but glanced at Cozy anxiously at the last second, then just craned her neck down to pick it up. Bracing the filly’s teeny little hoof between Rarity’s forelegs, Rarity squatted beside the filly, biting down on the nail file and patiently worrying each of her four hooves down, until the nail was even and smooth, with no signs of weakness or cracking. Rarity was glad she also brought a hoof scraper, because the filly had some pretty significant rocks jammed up into her frog. It must have been bothering the filly for quite some time, if just on the edge of her awareness, because Cozy’s breath actually deepened when Rarity began digging the horrid things out. Staring wide-eyed at Rarity, as if she didn’t even realize what a relief it would be. Cozy Glow couldn’t believe what a relief it was! She didn’t even know they made chisels for your hoof. She’d been using a pencil, at the school! Cozy hadn’t even realized how tight and tense her frogs were, until Rarity picked out those rocks and Cozy’s frogs relaxed beautifully. How long had Cozy been walking on those rocks? She never could see very well when she was cleaning her own hoof. Getting somepony else to do your nails was awesome! “There, that should do it,” Rarity said, spitting out the chisel. “You can stand up, dear.” Cozy started to stand, but sank back down with a hiss of surprise, as pain flared when she put weight on her hoof. “Easy now,” Rarity said uneasily, “It might hurt a bit. Plant your hoof slowly. It should stop hurting once your full weight is on it.” “I can’t, I have to...” Cozy struggled to get up without painfully planting her leg, but no dice, she just slid back to her belly no matter how hard she tried. Cozy looked up at the older pony. “I don’t suppose you could pick me up?” Cozy asked shamefully, “I can put all my hooves down slowly then, if you put me down slowly. Not with magic!! I’m... still... young enough to be scruffed.” Cozy only said that last part, so the unicorn wouldn’t try her magic again. She was only trying to keep the unicorn from doing something stupid. Still, she felt a strange... ache in her heart, when Rarity bit her neck and Cozy Glow was lifted into the air by the stretchy skin of her scruff. It was not an unfamiliar sensation, but Cozy Glow didn’t like what it reminded her of, that she was always going to have to pretend not to hate everypony, and everything would still be ruined forever. Rarity carefully set her down, and Cozy felt the boneless lethargy that stretching of her neck caused, but she still lifted her hooves when they started to hurt. Carefully putting down one after the other, Cozy Glow was at last standing on all four sore but immensely relieved hooves, sinking on them more and more. The tension released from her scruff slow as the pony slowly set her down, and finally before letting go, asked, “Shat arigh’ Hosey?” Cozy trembled anxiously. She didn’t want her to let go. Cozy didn’t want her ever to let go, but she couldn’t afford to let feeling cloud her... decisions. “You can put me down, miss Rarity,” Cozy said politely, “My hooves feel fine.” Releasing her, Rarity teased at Cozy’s mane a teeny bit more with the comb and brush in her mouth, and fussed over her broken wings, but finally said, “Alright. That should be that. Let’s see how you look in the mirror, Cozy?” “Who cares how I look in the mirror?” Cozy grumbled, as the older pony nudged her over into the bathroom, “It’s not like you could...” Rarity felt quite gratified, when the filly’s grumbling fell to silence as she caught site of herself in the bathroom mirror. Cozy Glow really did... look beautiful. It wasn’t hard to do; she was naturally a very beautiful pony. Rarity didn’t want to imagine what hearts she would be stealing when she came into her marehood. Clean her up a bit, apply a little of Rarity’s personal touch, and it was easy to bring out that filly’s inner beauty. If only that filly had any inner... beauty. Wait a minute. The filly’s shocked expression firmed into a rather bored one, as she stared coldly at the mirror, and all her inner beauty faded. “It looks alright,” Cozy said casually, “I guess I was worried over nothing.” Turning her rear to the mirror, Cozy Glow smiled... unconvincingly and told Rarity in a sweet voice, “And now I get to walk out of here and go free, just like you promised! Thank you so much for setting me free, just like you agreed!” Rarity tried not to sneer at the filly, telling her, “The agreement was I brush you, if you take off the sheet.” Cozy Glow was fighting not to snarl at that, as she said with an edge to her voice, “Not that agreement. I meant the one where you say you’ll let me go if I do everything you want like a good little filly. But you always want just one more thing, and more and more and more,” Cozy was right back to shouting now, as Rarity backed away from the filly, who told her, “You’re never going to let me go! I know ponies like you. So don’t think this means I’m grateful in the slightest, because I know you’re just gonna find some more reason to keep me locked in here!” “I would have had you locked up in Tartarus!” Rarity admitted furiously, “You are lucky that Starlight Glimmer would care enough to make this facility entirely for your benefit, to give you a chance to get better, rather than condemning you for all eternity!” Cozy Glow seemed at a loss for a moment, then she got an even more horrible smile, and said, “You wanted to condemn me for all eternity, didn’t you?” “I...” Rarity said, red-faced with horror at what she’d almost done to this poor filly, “I made a mistake!” “You are so pitiful, Rarity,” Cozy Glow sneered, the words rolling out of her mouth in a dully unimpressed tone that seemed somehow so horribly familiar. “I’m... I’m taking the sheet!” Rarity announced in frustration, sweeping the filthy sheet up in her magic, and then it was subtle, but Cozy’s pupils momentarily shrank just a bit, and her hind leg twitched, as if she wanted to step back. Rarity took everything in her saddlebags with her magic, opened the door with her magic, and backed out of the room, holding the folded sheet in front of her with her magic. She pushed the door closed, and made sure it latched tightly. Then she didn’t even look in the little window, before trotting stiffly to the hallway door, where the nurse was waiting to let Rarity out to the world beyond. “Why does Cozy Glow hate unicorns, Starlight Glimmer?” Rarity asked pointedly, after forcibly drafting her friend into a lunch at the Mushroom Cafe, in order to... talk. “I don’t know, Rarity!” Starlight said in surprise, “She never acted like she hated me at—” Starlight winced. “...I probably shouldn’t finish that sentence.” “Cozy Glow told me she didn’t like being touched by magic,” Rarity said dourly, “Unicorn magic. And this was not your ordinary disgust, no, she was practically shaking in fear by the time I was done cleaning her up!” “She... just let you clean her up?” Starlight asked cautiously. “We reached an agreement,” Rarity said simply. “The point is that filly did not like my magic one bit, and I want to know why.” “Well, I... dunno!” Starlight said incredulously, “She tried to destroy all the magic in Equestria, so I guess it makes sense? I have no idea why she’d hate magic. I don’t really know a lot about Cozy Glow at all!” “What are you talking about?” Rarity asked, squinting at Starlight, “Wasn’t she your personal assistant?” “And Twilight’s,” Starlight said modestly. “So... where did she come from?” Rarity queried, giving Starlight a sideways glance, “Who are her parents, and why... her parents were consulted about her imprisonment, weren’t they?” “I don’t know who her parents are,” Starlight said honestly, “Twilight must have handled it, but for me, Cozy just sort of... showed up in my office one day. I never even saw where she was living.” “You are supposed to...” Rarity was trying not to fume herself to being redfaced as she bit out the words, “Know that sort of thing about your... employees!” “She was my assistant, not my employee, Rarity,” Starlight said wryly, “You think I can afford to hire somepony?” “So... she just ‘showed up,’” Rarity clarified. “Yep,” Starlight confirmed. “And you know absolutely nothing about her,” Rarity added. “All I know is she was a student who got in some trouble doing uhm, something regarding the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Starlight said, “She asked me for advice, I gave her advice, then she went back to studenting. She started offering to help Twilight with her management duties, and she was so good at it that she started doing my paperwork too.” Starlight sighed, saying, “I wish I knew more about Cozy Glow’s past. It would really help in understanding what went wrong with her.” “She’s a student!” Rarity realized, “She’s going to have student records.” “Of course!” Starlight said, in astonishment, “Why didn’t I think of that? Come on, let’s go ask Twilight for her record!” “Aaactually, I have a class to teach in ten minutes,” Rarity said cagily, “But I’m sure you can take a little bit longer of a lunch break, since you only see one student at a time.” “That’s true enough, and I don’t have appointments back to back either,” Starlight admitted, “There actually isn’t a whole lot of... work for a guidance counselor at a school of Friendship.” “Would that I was as lucky as you were, with Twilight’s ambitious project here,” Rarity groaned. “I think I might be a little bit more busy once the asylum gets more ponies in it,” Starlight admitted uneasily, “But yes I definitely have time now.” “Oh, absolutely Starlight,” Twilight Sparkle said with an accomodating smile, “That sounds like an excellent idea!” “I think it’ll help a lot!” Starlight said happily, “It’ll be so good to talk to Cozy Glow’s parents. Find out where she grew up! I can’t just ask her about potentially traumatizing information, without having some way to confirm it. But this way we don’t have to!” They went down to the record room, which was still pretty bare bones, but there was one single filing cabinet in it. Twilight slid it open with a glow of her horn, and sifted through the thin folders, before pulling out the one marked Cozy Glow. Starlight took it in her aqualine magic, and scanned through the folder. There was a record of Cozy’s tests at the school, and a graph of how her grades were over the year she was there, which... might be valuable for analysis. There was a photograph of the filly looking happy and excited to be here, wherever the picture was taken. Some notes about Cozy’s role as Twilight’s assistant. And... an application form. “Well, that’s... strange,” Starlight said, looking at the application written in rather shaky mouthwriting, “But at least we have a name, and a location. Maybe this weekend, we can schedule a visit to Manehattan?” “Yes, I think mister Mi and missus Ness are going to have a lot of explaining to do,” Twilight said, squinting at the application critically, “How on earth does anypony have such atrocious spelling?” That weekend, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer winked in on the Manehattan Station teleportation pad. They made their way out of the station without one single other pony using the pad, but that was sort of what made telepad lanes so conveniently empty, since most ponies either took the train, or were too busy researching advanced magic to travel, since it took a unicorn of pretty high level to manage a long range teleport, even with a beacon to guide them. “Wow, I can’t remember the last time I left Ponyville when the world wasn’t in dire peril,” Twilight said, looking around the station as they trotted over to a pony selling maps. “Really?” Starlight asked, “You don’t go anywhere on weekends?” “I’m too busy catching up with managing the school,” Twilight groaned, “There are a few times, a very few times, a very, very few times that I get called on a friendship quest. But other than that... time just kind of gets away from me!” They headed to the booth, and a few bits lighter, had a map of the city unfolded in Twilight’s magic, as the two of them looked it over. “Huh, there’s no Manehatan street on the listing,” Starlight said curiously, “Maybe it’s outdated?” “It could be an old name for a street that’s differently named now,” Twilight suggested, “Or the name could be so poorly spelled that it’s not Manehattan street at all.” “Can I help you ladies?” a rather nasal sounding stallion said behind them. Both Twilight and Starlight looked up at him, as he pointed above him, so they looked up further to see that the booth selling the maps was actually labeled “INFORMATION.” “Why thank you, good sir!” Twilight said happily, “We were just wondering if you might know which street is Manehattan.” He blinked at that, then said in confusion, “Well, all of them. What do you mean?” Blushing, Twilight said, “No I mean which street is named Manehattan, in Manehattan. Is there a Manehattan street?” “Not that I know of,” he said uncertainly, “Be pretty strange if there was.” “Is there anywhere we might look through old town records, to find if the street name changed?” Twilight asked hopefully. “Sure, the library is north of here,” the stallion said, leaning over the counter and pointing at their map, “Just go three blocks down Halter street, hang a left on Third, and you can’t miss it. They got old records all the way back.” “Is—um, is there anywhere we could find anypony living here by their name?” Starlight asked a little nervously. He blinked again, before saying, “City Hall. That’s where they got public listings at least. You might just have to ask around though. I think the library has some old address records.” “Thanks, you’re a... I mean that’s a big help,” Starlight said with a relieved smile. The two mares headed off, talking in quiet tones to each other, before the lavender one hurried back, asking with a nervous smile, “Sorry... where’s City Hall?” On the way there, Twilight said to Starlight Glimmer, “How about you take a look around City Hall, while I check out the library?” “Wouldn’t you want to go to City Hall?” Starlight asked, “Because you’re the one with some governmental...” Twilight gave her the puppy eyes, “...authority, fine I’ll go to City Hall. You take the library.” “Meet me at the library with what you’ve found!” Twilight said, immediately brightening up. “Sounds like a plan,” Starlight agreed affectionately. City Hall was a big, brick building, like all the other big brick buildings around here. Starlight Glimmer trotted in through the front doors, looking around until she saw a booth with what looked like a secretary behind it. “Hello, there,” Starlight said with what she hoped was a fetching smile, “Are you the one to ask about public listings?” “Sure, whaddya want?” the slim mare said, shuffling some papers in-hoof off to the side. “Tomine Mi and Bid Ness,” Starlight said. The mare tilted her head at that. “What are you doin’ here then?” she asked looking thoroughly confused. “I’m... looking for the ponies Tomine Mi and Bid Ness?” Starlight replied cautiously. “You don’t usually look for ponies, if you’re gonna do that,” the mare replied flatly, “Is this some sorta joke?” “N-no!” Starlight said in surprise, “I just wanted to find a couple of ponies. Married, I think.” “What’re their names?” the mare asked, mouthing a pencil. “I thought I told you,” Starlight said incredulously, “Tomine Mi and Bid Ness.” Dropping the pencil, the mare frowned and said, “Well that’s just rude! I’m gonna have to ask you to leave if you’re gonna be joking around like this.” “It’s no joke!” Starlight said frantically, “I really do want Tomine Mi and Bid Ness!” “Then get outta here!” the secretary mare declared angrily, then looked over Starlight’s shoulder, saying, “Would the next pony in line please step forwahd?” “S-sorry, I uh,” Starlight scrambled out of the way, as the next pony came, a pegasus mare with a form or something tucked under her wing. Trotting out of City Hall, Starlight rubbed her temple in confusion, saying to herself, “What was that all about? I’m gonna have to tell Twilight about this right away.” Starlight found Twilight Sparkle in the library, with several old city maps spread out, but between the two of them, neither could find a Manehattan (or a Manehatan) street. “That is bizarre!” Twilight agreed, “They wouldn’t even see you in City Hall? Maybe I do need to pull some strings to find out who those ponies are.” “The kiosk pony did say to ask around, so maybe we could find somepony on the street who knows who it is?” Starlight suggested. “Manehattan’s a big city, but if it worked for Applejack and Rarity, I don’t see why it shouldn’t work for us,” Twilight admitted, a statement that made total sense, considering that Applejack and Rarity were both too embarassed to talk about that particular detail in their friendship quest. “Excuse me—ex—excuse—excuse me,” Twilight stated as the ponies hurried past her on the street corner. Starlight Glimmer just kind of stood there, watching the ponies hurry to and fro past them like a deer in carriage lights. Looking at Starlight’s confused paralysis, Twilight suggested, “How about you try hailing a cab. Maybe somepony’s given Tomine and Bid a ride.” Seven cabs later, a thick steel ponyhole cover had an unfortunate accident, trapping the wheel of the carriage in the ponyhole long enough for a particularly vexed Starlight to trot up to the driver asking sweetly, “Excuse me, I need to find out if you’ve ever given rides to a pony couple: Tomine Mi and Bid Ness.” “If that’s what you want, then why should I tell you anything?” the hefty mare said in aggravation, “How about you scram, so’s I can check my carriage wheel alignment?” “Ohh heh heh, sorry about that,” Starlight said, levitating the cab up in the air, and applying a quick Simformias Memoriam to return the wheel to its pristine state a few minutes back. She set the cab down, to find that there were about five ponies standing in the street just staring at her, open mouthed. “Um...” Starlight said nervously, and her logical side suggested this would be an excellent time to ask them about the ponies she was looking for, but Starlight’s neurotic side was carrying a much bigger stick, so Starlight just ducked her head low and trotted hastily out of there, after returning the ponyhole cover back to its proper place of course. “Any luck with the cab drivers?” Twilight Sparkle asked, completely ignorant of the past few minutes as Starlight trotted up to her. “None, sorry,” Starlight said with low ears. “This is hopeless,” Twilight Sparkle groaned, lashing her tail, “I don’t know how Applejack and Rarity got anything out of these Manehattan ponies. None of them stop long enough to even start a conversation with them!” “Let’s ask in a shop?” Starlight suggested, “Ponies there aren’t trotting around, at least.” “Oh, we can ask Coco!” Twilight exclaimed lifting her head high with a delighted smile. “Sure, we could get some chocolate drinks afterwards I guess?” Starlight asked worriedly, at the smiling princess. “No, Coco Pommel,” Twilight clarified, relaxing a bit, “She’s a good friend of Rarity’s, and a wonderful pony, who manages Rarity’s boutique in Manehattan, and I actually do know where that is!” “Well what are we waiting for?” Starlight asked hopefully. They waited for nothing, and soon walked into the soothing blue atmosphere of Rarity 4 U. The proprieter—well—head sales associate walked forward, as Twilight Sparkle said, “Hello, Coco! Long time no see. I don’t suppose we could talk to you for a second?” “Oh, I’ll be more than happy to talk!” Coco Pommel stated, the blue haired, cream furred earth pony wearing a fetching purple collar and red ribbon that would have been noticed by ponies who were not Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle. Still, she was happy to lead them both into the back room, “Or the ‘Racc’ room, as we like to call it,” Coco added with a giggle for some reason, where the atmospheric music wasn’t quite as noticeable, “Now, what can I help you with?” “I’ll get straight to the point,” Twilight said seriously, “We need Tomine Mi and Bid Ness.” “I’m not sure how both of you would do that,” Coco said in bemusement, “But was there something I could help you with?” “We’re looking for Tomine Mi and Bid Ness,” Starlight said a little irritably. “What do you need me for then?” Coco asked in bewilderment. “What do you mean ‘what do you need me for?’” Starlight asked in aggravation, “I need Tomine Mi and Bid Ness!” “Well you’re not doing a very good job of it!” Coco said fussily, “Why don’t you just leave, then?” “We’re not leaving without finding these two ponies, and where they live!” Twilight insisted sourly, “I just want Tomine Mi and Bid Ness! What is wrong with that? Is the whole city hiding them from us?” “If you’re trying to find ponies who are in hiding, I don’t see how that’s minding your own business at all!” Coco retorted. “Who said I was minding my own business?!” Twilight squawked, “I just want Tomine Mi and Bid Ness!” “You just said you were!” Coco said with tears in her eyes, “Why are you being so mean?” “I’m not being mean!” Twilight snapped, “I’m looking for Tomine—” her voice cut off as her mouth zipped shut. With a very extremely nervously, cringy smile, Starlight Glimmer said shakily, “I think we might have a little misunderstanding here.” Twilight unzipped her mouth, asking unhappily, “Starlight, what do you mean?” “Think of what the names ‘Tomine Mi and Bid Ness’ sound like,” Starlight asked, sweating as she glanced from Twilight to Coco. “Not the names themselves, but what the phrase sounds like.” Twilight tilted her head, saying curiously, “It sounds like Tomine Mi and oh for the love of Pete!” “...no it doesn’t?” Coco said uncertainly as the princess threw her head back in an angry shout, trotting a few paces away from them in fuming frustration. “Well, we were looking for two ponies named Tomine Mi and Bid Ness,” Starlight explained, which didn’t seem to enlighten Coco at all, since... oh for the love of Pete. “Two ponies, the first pony named Tomine Mi—” Starlight started to say before Twilight grabbed Starlight’s tail in her magic, dragging her away. “We have to go,” Twilight blurted out furiously, “Right. Now.” “What? Why?” Starlight asked, skidding as the princess’s magic tried to pull her along with out of the store. “Cozy Glow was using a fake name on her enrollment application!” Twilight declared in distress, heading for the door. “Cozy’s in a managed care facility right now,” Starlight protested, “She’s been there for months! Well... almost two months. I don’t think it’s urgent or anything!” “But she, she might be... okay, you have a point,” Twilight admitted, releasing Starlight, and blushing, “But I don’t think we need to waste any more of miss Pommel’s time with this wild goose chase.” “So, are you going to mind your own business, or not?” Coco asked, cautiously approaching. “I am so sorry, Coco, it was all a huge misunderstanding,” Twilight said even spreading her wings in abject apology, “We’ve been searching the city for two ponies, one named Tomine Mi, and the other named Bid Ness, but it turns out those names were totally fake!” “How did you find out that their names were fake?” Coco asked, incredulously, “I haven’t even told you anything about them!” “...you don’t really know any ponies by that name, do you?” Starlight asked testily. “Well, I know a Bid Ness,” Coco admitted, “He’s an auctioneer on the north side. The other name seems...kind of strange though. Who names their foal ‘Me’?” “Someone with a huge ego,” Starlight groaned with an equally huge roll of her eyes. The train ride back was much more relaxing than trying to convince the shaky, nerve-wracked alicorn to long range teleport again. “Starlight, who is Cozy Glow?” Twilight asked as the soft rattle of the wheels on the tracks accompanied their very uncrowded mid-afternoon train ride out of Manehattan. Starlight shrugged, not really sure what to say to that. Twilight stared forward, listening to the sounds of the train, then said, “I don’t know where she came from, or where she went. I—I know she left the school sometimes, but I never saw her go home. I never saw her parents pick her up, or... anything.” “She can’t have just... come out of nowhere,” Starlight reasoned, “There have to be records somewhere. We can check the orphanage, maybe she was from there?” “She was always at school before me, when I came in in the mornings,” Twilight remarked faintly, “I thought she was just... punctual.” “Aren’t you the first pony who arrives in the morning?” Starlight asked critically. “No, there are a few janitors who have uh... graveyard shifts,” Twilight replied, “We can ask them if they ever saw Cozy arrive, or... if they never saw her arrive.” “Do you think she was living at the school?” Starlight asked with wilting ears, “How would she even do that?” “You’d be surprised how easy it is to find places to sleep, if you’re still inside when they lock the doors,” Twilight replied wryly, “It wouldn’t be easy, but... I mean she is a pegasus.” “Oh yeah, so she probably could sleep in a cloud,” Starlight said thoughtfully. “By herself, though?” Twilight persisted, “And where did she come from? What happened to her, before she came to this school? Did something happen to her? What could have happened to her?” Twilight’s head sank as she whimpered, “Is Cozy Glow really... truly...” Starlight put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, and the alicorn princess swept Starlight Glimmer up in a hug. Twilight didn’t say anything in the hug, and Starlight was afraid to say it out loud, but it was starting to look like Cozy Glow might not need to be reformed at all... if she had never done anything wrong.